[Opinion] Tokyo Olympics 16th Place in the World, an Excellent and Overwhelming Result

Jung Kyu-young, President of the Studying Athletes Exercising Students Association / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

At the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which concluded on the 8th, South Korea won a total of 20 medals, including 6 gold, 4 silver, and 10 bronze, ranking 16th overall. Previously, at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, South Korea earned 21 medals in total?9 gold, 3 silver, and 9 bronze?achieving 8th place overall. Although the total number of medals differs by only one, concerns have arisen that South Korea's sports competitiveness has declined based on the overall ranking results.

Nonetheless, we applaud and respect our athletes who performed well despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. On the other hand, it is necessary to reflect on Korea’s sports administration, which has long promoted itself as a 'sports powerhouse' relying on the blood and sweat of a very small number of elite athletes without expanding the base of grassroots sports through school physical education and local sports clubs, and has tried to maintain its status through the number of Olympic gold medals.

The positive function of sports is education. Sportsmanship?competing fairly by following rules, applauding the winner, and respecting the loser?is important. Proper character education through this is essential for children and adolescents. Furthermore, a country that expands the base of grassroots sports through local sports clubs and thereby promotes public health is a true 'sports powerhouse.' Olympic medals should not be the sole criterion.

To achieve these goals, the Korea Sports Council should pursue an administration that seeks the positive functions of sports rather than obsessing over Olympic medals for the time being. At the Tokyo Olympics, South Korea’s baseball team ranked 4th among 6 participating countries. Having won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and with star players receiving tens of millions of won in signing bonuses and salaries in domestic professional baseball, the failure to win a medal drew criticism. However, I would like to question what positive effects winning a gold medal in baseball actually has on Korean sports.

Before criticizing players who chew gum during games or those who do not say in interviews that they "have committed a grave sin" while losing, as if in professional games, we should reflect on the past when we only wished to win at the Olympics and paid no attention to education through sports.

Student-athletes from Stanford University, representing the United States at the Tokyo Olympics, won 26 medals?more than the total number of medals won by the Korean delegation. These students also won 27 medals at the Rio Olympics, again surpassing the total medals of the Korean team. Stanford is considered one of the world’s top prestigious private universities, not a specialized sports university. Student-athletes do not prioritize Olympic participation and medals above all else but enter society by pursuing their aptitudes. I believe this strength, achieved through school sports without focusing solely on athletics, is the driving force behind the United States’ status as a sports powerhouse.

To build a similar foundation, we must restore the educational function of physical education from elementary through high school to university, activate local sports clubs, and focus on expanding grassroots sports. We must stop the backward trend of briefly praising some star athletes based on Olympic results and obsessing only over the number of medals and rankings. Even moving forward steadily, there is still a long and difficult road ahead.

Jeong Ju-yeong, President, Studying Athletes and Exercising Students Association